Media Predicts OVC Basketball Races; Eagle Women Tabbed Third

Members of the media who cover the Ohio Valley Conference have selected their predicted order of finish for the men's and women's basketball teams this year. The Morehead State women have been tabbed for a third-place showing, while the men are ninth.

For the fourth year in a row the OVC has conducted a preseason Men's and Women's Media Poll prior to the start of the season. In total 12 voters from around the league cast a ballot on whom they thought would be the 2017-18 basketball favorites and preseason players of the year.

The OVC will release its official preseason poll and All-OVC team, as voted on by league head coaches and sports information directors, on Tuesday, October 24 during the league's annual Media Day in Evansville.

The Eagle women finished 21-10 in 2016-17 and second place in the conference. They advanced to the program's first-ever postseason Women's NIT Tournament. Two of the top three scorers, junior guard Miranda Crockett (11.2 ppg) and senior forward Eriel McKee (11.1 ppg) return, along with point guard Darianne Seward. She dished off 110 assists in just 21 games (5.2 apg). Senior forward Brooke Todd also is back after blocking 83 shots to rank second in the OVC last season.

The men's team will have a whole new look in 2017-18 with 10 new players. Junior forward Lamontray Harris (9.4 ppg) is the team's most potent offensive returnee. Sophomore guard Jordan Walker hit 49 percent of his three-pointers to rank among the most accurate distance shooters in the league and the nation.

Been there, done that? Not so much for Preston Spradlin. At least not quite in the same way.

Oh, sure, the first-year Morehead State head basketball coach has been through preseason camps aplenty. It will be his ninth, in fact, on the Division I level.

But come Saturday, Spradlin will enjoy an experience he's never gone through - opening preseason camp as the head coach. The 2017-18 Eagles hold their first official full team practice Saturday as Spradlin and his nearly-new coaching staff direct a 14-man roster punctuated with much youth and many new faces.

Chuck Mraz, who has broadcasted Morehead State athletic events for nearly 30 years, has been named the 2016-17 recipient of the Ohio Valley Conference Media Award.

The awards were established in 2010 as a way to recognize the media members who provide publicity for the Conference, its member institutions and intercollegiate athletics, perform their jobs in a fair, consistent and accurate manner, provide all-around coverage for a variety of sports and demonstrate the ability to go above and beyond their normal beat or job description.